1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a remotely programmable infusion system for medical applications. More particularly, the present invention relates to an infusion system for delivering a variety of medicines and fluids that sends voice commands and queries to a remote touch-tone transceiver and that can be programmed by pressing keys on the keypad of the remote touch-tone transceiver in response to the commands and queries.
2. Description of the Related Art
Infusion devices are used in the medical field to administer and deliver medicines and other fluids to a patient. Today, due in part to rising health costs and the high cost of hospital rooms, and in part to the desire to provide comfort and convenience to patients, the medical industry has promoted in-home care for patients suffering from various maladies. Particularly, many patients require delivery and administration of medicines or other IV fluids on a regular basis. Delivery and administration is accomplished via a variety of infusion devices, such IV pumps and gravity pumps and other types of IV administration. By supplying patients with infusion devices that are lightweight and easy to use, the patients can receive their medicinal needs at home, i.e., without having to be at a hospital and without direct assistance by a care provider, such as a nurse.
Nevertheless, the operating parameters of infusion devices must frequently be changed, due to variations in the patient's needs. Therapy changes may also require that entire protocols be programmed. In early versions of home infusion devices, the physical presence of a care provider at the infusion device was required to reprogram the device's protocol. Such reprogramming was costly and time-consuming, thereby severely limiting the efficiency and convenience of infusion devices.
Since the introduction of these early home infusion devices, the medical industry has made advances in the techniques by which a home infusion device can be monitored and reprogrammed. For example, one system employs a patient activated switch on a diagnostic apparatus that causes automatic dialing of a telephone number corresponding to a care provider remote from the diagnostic apparatus. This enables the patient to communicate with the care provider through a speaker and microphone on the diagnostic apparatus, permitting interactive communication with the care provider regarding the routines to be performed by the diagnostic apparatus. This system, however, merely provides the capability for the care provider to monitor the infusion device, but does not offer the capacity to remotely reprogram the infusion device.
Another remote monitoring system employs a user interface for programming blood pressure testing protocol into, and downloading blood pressure data from, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring units. The user interface is connected to a central processing computer via a telephone line. Control units located at the blood pressure testing site transfer blood pressure data to the central computer, which generates comprehensive medical reports for specific patients, but which cannot transmit reprogramming signals back to the control unit.
Other systems employ remote computers for monitoring and reprogramming the protocol of the infusion device. In one such system, the infusion device has a delivery unit for delivering the medicinal solution and a removable logic unit for controlling operation of the delivery unit. The logic unit is either attached to or separate from the delivery unit, and the latter can be worn by the patient. The logic unit is connected to a programming computer via a telephone line. The computer can be used to program the logic unit with a logic configuration suitable for operating the delivery unit in accordance with the intended delivery requirements. Thus, while such systems provide for remote reprogramming of the protocol, they require a remotely located computer to accomplish reprogramming.
The previous conventional systems have a variety of drawbacks. Most importantly, they do not provide simple, interactive reprogramming by a care provider without the need for a remote reprogramming computer. The ability to have the care provider access the remotely located infusion device on a standard telephone and reprogram the infusion device via the keys on the telephone keypad is a significant advance over conventional reprogramming techniques. This is because touch-tone reprogramming is less costly, quicker, and much more convenient for both the care provider and the patient, making infusion devices easier to use and more versatile. Conventional home infusion systems also do not have the capacity to send recorded voice signals to the remote care provider instructing and asking the care provider about reprogramming the infusion device. By using recorded voice commands and queries stored in the infusion system that direct the care provider in reprogramming the infusion device, the process of reprogramming is made simpler and more efficient, with little chance of making programming errors. Therefore, a need exists for an infusion device that can be remotely programmed via a transceiver without the need for a remote programming computer and that sends recorded voice signals from the infusion device to a care provider.